


Onwards, to adventure!

by ismellsarcasm



Series: Quick prompts [4]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:17:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellsarcasm/pseuds/ismellsarcasm
Summary: Two friends talk about adventure on their way to a river near their village





	Onwards, to adventure!

“I’m BOOORED!” exclaimed An-Cheng as he stretched his arms to the sky. It was a nice day today, he had worked on the fields most of the week and today was one of the few days he could have to himself.

“You’ve been saying that ever since we left the village.” said Guying, who was walking beside him. “Quit complaining!”

“But I am!” answered An-Cheng back. “At least you get to go fishing and tend the yaks!”

“That’s because last time you led a stampede that almost destroyed our camp.”

“How was I supposed to know that they’d freak out if I rode one of them?” He remembered that day with a shiver and saw at the corner of his eye Guying rolling her eyes, although there was no real offense in them.

“They don’t.” she clarified. “They just don’t like being ridden by you.”

The road towards the Tan Shan River was around two hours of walking, so An-Cheng thanked the gods that it was neither too hot to be able to walk comfortably nor too cold to want to turn back and warm up by the fire. It was his duty to bring water today and he was rolling a big wooden barrel he was supposed to bring back.

Even though neither would admit it, Guying had probably decided to fish today so that she could help him move the barrel when it was full.

“What if I ran away?” said An-Cheng. “Do you think anyone would notice?”

“No.” said Guying in matter-of-fact way.

Usually he’d assume that Guying was answering his question, but judging by how quickly and harshly she had responded it was more likely that she didn’t even want to think about the topic. Which was the perfect opportunity for An-Cheng to tease her.

“Yeah, you’re right.” he sighed. “I should just leave it all behind and I could finally have the adventure I’ve always wanted!”

“Shut up, stupid!” Guying punched him in the arm. It didn’t hurt, she had made sure of it. An-Cheng has seen Guying fight and he has also been on the receiving end of her punches so he knew that if she had actually punched him, he’d probably need a lot more than just a quick rub to make the pain go away.

Still that didn’t stop him from being dramatic.

“Ow! My arm!” he shouted, but still couldn’t get his voice tone to sound actually hurt or helpless. “I think you broke it!”

“Oh, come on!” Guying protested as she caught An-Cheng in her arms while he was pretending that somehow his broken arm also meant he couldn’t walk anymore.

“You’re going to have to take the barrel Guying.” he told her, making his voice raspy and pretending to be on his deathbed. “You’re going to have to carry it all the way back to the village.”

Guying just let him drop when he was close enough to the ground where he wouldn’t get hurt.

“I’m not carrying anything but fish back home, if you’re too weak to do it yourself is not my problem.”

An-Cheng had stopped pretending his arm was hurt and grabbed the hand that Guying was offering to stand back up.

The conversation slowly died down and they walked in comfortable silence through the mountainous terrain.

“Why don’t you throw away those stupid shoes?” said Guying, breaking the silence.

The question had simply come out of nowhere, but An-Cheng was already used to Guying’s mind wandering and voicing out her thoughts once she reached a topic she liked.

“None of your business!” answered An-Cheng defensively.

An-Cheng’s uncle had given him some new leather shoes last summer, but wearing those meant throwing away the ones Guying had worked a whole year on and he wasn’t ready to throw away some shoes he had been through so much with.

“What about that ugly statue in front of your house?”

That was an easy target for Guying. They both perfectly remembered they had built that statue through baby tears and blood. Of course he would never throw away the product of their hard-earned labor.

It was supposed to be a cat and An-Cheng would always insist that it did indeed look like a cat, which everyone else agreed it didn’t.

“What’s with all the questions?”

“And that old Zhangu?” His favorite instrument of when he was a baby; his first present, actually.

An-Cheng raised his arms in playful defeat. “Fine, I yield!” he said. “At whatever you’re playing, you win.”

It took him all the way to the river for him to realize what the game was about: He wasn’t the person to leave it all behind, he wasn’t the person to go out on an adventure and not care if he would go back home. Perhaps he just wanted a little more freedom, a little more time to enjoy being alive and living in his calm, monotonous and memory-filled town.

“I still want to go on an adventure.” He said as they waited for Guying to catch some fish, he stared at the water.

“Whatever.”

They shared a secret look, like they had had a completely different conversation in their heads, like he told apologized for even thinking of leaving everything behind, including her; like she promised that maybe he could help her go hunting when spring came again. He’d have an adventure one day, perhaps not the great ones like Tang Sanzang in his stories, but he’d make one of his own eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> This is supposed to take place in pre-colonized Hong Kong, China  
(It was originally for an assignment in class)  
Also, the characters are just friends, but you're free to ship them if you want :)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!  
Kudos, comment and constructive criticism are always appreciated.
> 
> Have a good day and go have a nice walk!
> 
> I might also publish this story in my Tumblr, if you want to check it up there :D  
https://i-smell-art.tumblr.com  
Also my personal Tumblr:  
https://i-smell-sarcasm.tumblr.com/


End file.
